Africa Now - Building a Better Future in Africa’s Middle Income Countries

WASHINGTON, October 31, 2007 — A new photo exhibit on display at the World Bank’s Washington, D.C., Main Complex until November 9 highlights a hopeful vision for Sub-Saharan Africa.

The subject is four southern African countries that are helping to show the way through political stability and steady economic development.

Though they still face many of the same challenges as their neighbors to the north, Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, and South Africa are middle-income countries with inherent strengths and opportunities. 

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle-Income Countries, or MICs, are a diverse group with complex social, cultural, political, and development challenges, varying development needs, and different preferences for what financial and support services they want from the World Bank.

The Bank’s main criterion for classifying economies is gross national income (GNI) per capita. Every economy is classified as low income, middle income (subdivided into lower middle and upper middle), or high income. Low-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $875 or less in 2005. Middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of more than $875 but less than $10,726. Lower-middle-income and upper- middle-income economies are separated at a GNI per capita of $3,465. High-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $10,726 or more.

For the African subcontinent, MICs are important because they contribute to the overall economic health of nations as well as to knowledge development.

"They comprise nearly half the dollar GDP of the continent though they are only 7.5 percent of the population,” said the World Bank’s Director for the four countries, Ritva Reinikka. “While South Africa comprises close to 40 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP – it is even more important to note the significant spillover effect this growth has on its neighbors, and the rest of the continent.”  

The global average of growth spillovers when a country grows one percent is 0.4 percent growth for its neighbors, according to Reinikka. However, South Africa’s growth impact is 0.75 percent not only on neighboring countries but also the entire sub-Saharan Africa. 

“This makes South Africa a huge engine of growth to Africa, like the United States is to the world,” she said. “Ensuring that growth continues is therefore vital not only for South Africa, but the continent as a whole.”

As part of the exhibit, the diversity of Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, and South Africa is expressed through the lenses of photographers John Hogg and Arne Hoel.

Hogg, a South African freelance photographer, spent a week each in South Africa and Namibia, while Hoel, a Norwegian photographer working for the World Bank’s Africa region, went to Botswana and Mauritius.

According to both photographers, they came away with not only a wonderful array of evocative images, but a greater depth of understanding for the achievements and challenges people face in their daily lives.

Botswana: Stability and Prosperity

In Botswana, Hoel chose people and locations that captured the essence of this small landlocked country with a population of 1.8 million. Since independence in 1966, Botswana has transformed from one of the poorest African countries, with US$80 per capita income, to an upper middle-income country today with a US$5,600 per capita income. The country’s growth has been fuelled by its diamond industry but is anchored in democratic governance and political and macroeconomic stability.

Hoel was able to highlight Botswana’s developed infrastructure but also captured its need to diversify beyond its abundant natural resources.

Botswana has also been innovative in its response to HIV/AIDS. It was the first country in Africa to provide free treatment to all citizens.  According to Reinikka, the World Bank is supporting the government’s efforts to meet its objectives in this area as well as in others, including infrastructure, education, environment, and livestock.

Mauritius: A Development Success

Hoel also was able to capture Mauritius as a development success story. This is as a result of good governance, exceptional use of preferential trade agreements for its sugar and textile exports, and the development of strong tourism and financial services industries.

At independence in 1968 Mauritius was poor, with a per capita income of about US$260. Today, per capita income is US$5,250, the second highest in sub-Saharan Africa. 

However, as the exhibit shows, Mauritius faces significant economic and social challenges as it transitions from dependence on trade preferences to open competition in the global economy.

As in Botswana, the World Bank has been working closely with Mauritius’ government to ensure response to these emerging needs through support for reforms in trade and economic policy and infrastructure projects.

Namibia: Building a Brighter Future

Hogg’s photo shoot in Namibia showcases this middle-income country whose considerable successes rest on a multiparty parliamentary democracy that delivers good economic management, good governance, basic civic freedoms, and respect for human rights.

At independence in 1990, Namibia inherited a well functioning physical infrastructure and a market economy, coupled with rich mineral resources. The government put these assets to good use to produce a decade and a half of economic growth and political stability.

However, the social and economic imbalances of the apartheid system also left Namibia with a highly dualistic society, as the photos show. The World Bank is supporting the government’s efforts to overcome these challenges through programs that promote equity, specifically in education. 

South Africa: Overcoming the Legacy of Apartheid

For Hogg, capturing images in his home country was a challenge.  South Africa has achieved a high level of political and economic stability over the last 10 years. It is one of the few African countries to have joined the group of upper- middle-income countries. Its economy is larger than that of Malaysia, and is by far the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa – exerting major influence on total output, trade, and investment flows of the African continent.

But while 13 percent of South Africa’s population live under "first world" conditions, nearly 50 percent live in developing-country conditions. In this latter group only one-quarter of households have access to electricity and running water; only half have a primary school education; and over a third of the children suffer from chronic malnutrition.

With the launch of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA), the government is trying to meet the most pressing challenges through a number of programs that emphasize skills development, land reform, and agriculture revival. The World Bank Group has been working to support South Africa's own development priorities and to strengthen its growth spillovers in the region. 

Reinikka, who was on hand to launch the opening of the exhibit, expressed hope that the many people who view it will come away with a much greater understanding of middle-income countries in Africa. She noted the exhibit highlights the development achievements as well as challenges these countries still face, including the need to accelerate growth and competitiveness and create jobs, inequality, HIV/AIDS, education and skills shortage, governance issues, and service delivery. 

"All of these countries are making great strides in development,” she said. “The World Bank supports them and is engaged in these countries that still face challenges of poverty. We want to remain relevant in these countries and add value in whatever way we can, through knowledge-sharing and technical expertise as they request from the bank."

By Mallory Saleson, World Bank